Pathfinder

Pathfinder Medical has developed an innovative catheter system that aims to enable patients to receive haemodialysis (a method of removing waste products and extra fluid, which build up in the blood when the kidneys are no longer able to function properly) in an improved manner.

There are more than 2.8 million patients worldwide who require HD. Those patients needing dialysis and those with circulatory problems often require surgery to link an artery and a vein as part of their operative treatment.

However, it remains an expensive and unreliable method, as such fistulas often block or fail altogether.

The Stent Tek system consists of an electronic catheter that is used to connect blood vessels together with a resilient plastic tube or ‘stent graft’, which is inserted non-surgically using a proprietary technique called ‘Epath’ which the company asserts can be quicker than surgery, less traumatic, less likely to fail, and reduces the number of secondary operations needed as well as risk of infection.

http://www.pathfindermed.com/